I skied the golf course and out to Sullivan Spring Rd. The skate lane was groomed today on this part of the trail. It was fast and firm with a few dirt spots, leaves, sticks and ice spots but 95% of the trail was well covered. The grooming broke up the icy layer and created a half inch layer of granular snow on top of the hard, at times uneven base, fairly fast skating. I used my B skis and skied around a few bad spots. The classic tracks looked worn and well skied in.

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(James Beno)

Skated skied from 32 lot to Smyth Road. Really soft and slow with the warm weather, but nicely groomed and skiable. Moderate debris, but easy enough to ski around. Don't let the pine debris on the starting stretch discourage you. That's not a long stretch and probably the worst area of that on the whole system. Classic tracks were fast and in great shape. Should be good once it firms back up. Heard they hope to regroom Saturday once it freezes.

(Ken Quant)

Skied from the Old 32 lot out to the end (20K). A very firm base that was fairly fast. Lots of sticks and pine needles on the trail. Classic tracks looked very good. Pretty nice skiing for December!

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(James Beno)

Went out this morning with the Yellowstone and groomed the golf course, the hills behind the golf course and out to the Old 32 lot. On Christmas Eve the PB groomed the rest of the trail all the way to the north end, so the whole trail is groomed now. The PB groomed section is very firm with solid, deep tracks. The portion groomed this morning is a little soft. Recommend B skis as there are quite a few sticks on the trail in some areas. The base is undulating in some sections and flat in others. Come out and enjoy!

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(James Beno)

Skied from the golf course out the green trail to the Old 32 parking lot. The trail had about 2 inches of light fluffy snow on top of a groomed base. The new snow helped fill in some spots and the glide was pretty good. The skate lane is still uneven due the underlying trail surface but snow coverage is good. The classic tracks that were previously set were skied in. I talked to a classic skier that said the new snow helped improve the skiing, and today was better than yesterday.

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(James Beno)

Absolutely gorgeous at Lakewood this morning skiing in 16 degree temps, under a sunny sky, and on top of 2" of fresh snow that fell overnight. Conditions were soft as we strided in ski-in tracks; however, it won't take much for the groomers to put Lakewood in terrific condition. Carpe Skiem!

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(Bob Warpinski)

Combed the golf course skate lane today as well as the green to blue trail to the Old 32 parking lot. The classic track was not touched. The trail on the golf course is very good, the trail in the woods is early season condition - uneven base and some debris.

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(James Beno)

Skating done on blue trail from golf course through 9K. The trail was rolled after 9K and freshly groomed from zero through 9K. The golf course proper is excellent for skating and diagonal tracks are wind blown. In the woods, there are twig debris and undulations. Rock skis suggested after the golf course but good skis on the golf course. Pictures are from the beautiful ravine at 8.5 K and also beginners loop.

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(Jules Blank)

Skied the golf course and into the woods on the Green and Blue trails. The golf course is in excellent shape with a firm skate lane and nice classic tracks. In the woods the trail is bumpy with debris and sticks, classic tracks set but shallow, definitely early season conditions.

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(Jim Beno)

They are still working on cleaning up the low-hanging and fallen trees. Some sections are rolled but nothing fully groomed, as far as I can tell. I did some striding in the untouched snow near Sullivan Springs road, in between shaking ice and snow off of bent-over trees. They need more volunteers to help with the remaining few miles of trail, so that grooming can start.

Photos:

(William Wodicka)